By Miriam Raftery

Updated with analysis from Forbes Magazine.

November 19, 2017 (San Diego) – House Republicans rammed through passage of a sweeping tax reform measure without holding a single hearing on the 400-page bill and without allowing any input from Democrats.   The measure, hailed as the first major legislative victory for President Donald Trump, was opposed by San Diego’s three Democratic representatives as well as by Republican Darrell Issa, but was supported by Republican Duncan Hunter. 

East County News Service

November 20, 2017 (San Diego) – Packaged salads with chicken and turkey in them have been recalled by Trader Joe’s because they may contain pieces of glass or hard plastic.

The salads have a use-by dates 11/10 through 11/21 and the USDA inspected code P-40299.

November 20, 2017 (San Diego's East County) -- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego’s inland regions, published in other media. This week’s top “Roundup” headlines include:

LOCAL

• County acquires Dictionary Hill open space  (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Desert View Tower, Jacumba roadside site, on sale for $1.25M (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Hunter calls for preemptive strike against North Korea  (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Judge orders Arabo to repay Neighborhood Market Association $248,000 (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Record of physician running for Congress warrants scrutiny (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Board of Supervisors Approve $500K in Rental Assistance For Homeless (KPBS)
• To resist scammers, SDG&E makes changes in worker uniforms (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• San Diego's only commercial marijuana grower to greatly expand production (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Scathing Emails Highlight Dem Party-Union Rift (Voice of San Diego)

STATE

• How California ranks in the nation’s opioid epidemic (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• California judge says companies must remove pre-1951 lead paint in homes (San Francisco Chronicle)
• Atmospheric river brings storm and flash flood warnings to fire-ravaged wine country (Los Angeles Times)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

East County News Service

November 20, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) – Your turkey in the oven won’t be the only thing warming up this Thanksgiving.  The National Weather Service predicts warm, dry weather through the holiday weekend—with record temperatures likely Wednesday and Thursday, Thanksgiving Day.

“We can create at least 6,000 jobs here.” – Pete Beauregard

By Miriam Raftery

November 17, 2017 (Ramona) – Out of the ashes of the 2007 firestorm in Ramona, Casa Aguilar arose.  The home of Pete  Beauregard and his wife, Amy McQuillan, just won the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2017 Innovation Award for zero net energy use. It’s also built to withstand wildfires. 

On October 24, Beauregard, a rancher, veteran, ex-rodeo bullrider and candidate for Congress in the 50^th Congressional district took the bull by the horns and convened a think tank meeting at his visionary home. The event brought together top green industry leaders to brainstorm ideas for bringing green manufacturing and building jobs to East County.

Update: Hear our interview with Dash McTavish from Food Not Bombs, a group planning to feed the homeless Nov. 25 in defiance of  El Cajon's ban.  Click the audio link to hear the interviewed originally aired on KNSJ.

By Miriam Raftery

November 12, 2017 (El Cajon) – Protest rallies on November 19^th and 25^th are being organized to oppose the El Cajon City Council’s unanimous decision to outlaw feeding the homeless and other city-owned properties, after previously banning camping in parks, sleeping on sidewalks and panhandling.  An online petition also calls on Mayor Bill Wells and the City Council to overturn the ban.  

East County News Service

November 18, 2017 (La Mesa) – Looking for holiday cheer?  San Pasqual Winery’s tasting room in La Mesa is offering cork wreath making classes, an evening of wine and cheese, and live music nights featuring musicians specializing in jazz, classical, and guitar ranging from country to classic rock and more.  For a full schedule of holiday season happenings, scroll down.

SDSU is 3-0 for just the 10^th time in program history

Source:  goaztecs.com

Photo courtesy goaztecs.com

November 18, 2017 (San Diego) - With just five seconds on the clock, senior captain Geena Gomez scored the go-ahead basket to give San Diego State women’s basketball its third straight win to open the season, a 59-58 nail biter over Cal State Fullerton Saturday afternoon in Viejas Arena.

East County News Service

November 17, 2017 (Jamul) – UCSD’s HP-Wren video camera atop Lyon’s Peak in Jamul captured this stunning sunset last week. 

You can view a dazzling time-lapse video here, taken November 7th:  http://c1.hpwren.ucsd.edu/…/lp-s-…/large/20171107/MP4/Q6.mp4

By Miriam Raftery

East County News Service

November 17, 2017 (Barrett Junction) – A motorcyclist was killed after being ejected from his vehicle following a collision with a Jeep Wrangler at Barrett Junction early this morning, then run over by another vehicle that fled the scene.

East County News Service

November 16, 2017 (Alpine) - The Alpine Woman’s Club will hold its Twelfth Annual “Christmas in Alpine” Home Tour on Saturday, December 16th from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. You will have an opportunity to view five stunning country estates and stroll through Kathy and Mario’s quaint and spectacular Alpine Country Garden and Gifts Shop and the beautifully decorated Alpine Community Church. The Historic Town Hall will be open from 1pm till 4pm. Andrew Piondexter will display his incredible Nutcracker collection. He originally started his collection about five years ago for one of his teachers. He added to his collection and now has almost 300 Nutcrackers. They range in size from two inches to five feet tall.

East County News Service

November 18, 2017 (Escondido) - The Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians is supporting and sponsoring the 1^st Annual North County Thanksgiving Turkey Giveaway including three upcoming events.

By Miriam Raftery

November 15, 2017 (El Cajon) – An El Cajon judge has sentenced John David Sanchez, a former Uber driver, to over 80 years in prison after Sanchez pled guilty to 34 counts of raping or sexually assaulting nine unconscious women and teenage girls as young as 13.  Superior Court Judge Evan Kirvin called Sanchez a sexual predator.

But according to a law firm specializing in sexual assaults committed by ride-share drivers including Uber and Lyft, such crimes are far from rare. 

East County News Service

November 15, 2017 (Sacramento) – CalVet Secretary Dr. Vito Imbasciani has issued a stating warning veterans about the impacts of the tax proposal in Congress.

He says, “Former service members living in California could end up on the streets if Congress passes its draft tax proposal. This hasty plan would eliminate tax-exempt bonds, which help us fight homelessness and find affordable housing for California veterans.”